


heave ho

by spideywhiteys



Series: 365 Days of Naruto AUs [49]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, alternate universe - gods & monsters, just an au in general, kankurou gets seasick easily, kankurou is a reluctant sailor, kankurou pov, sort of a fantasy au, zabuza is a sea monster
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:08:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29544921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spideywhiteys/pseuds/spideywhiteys
Summary: The ocean is home to many gods and monsters. Some are kind — saving those who find themselves drowning or stranded, providing goods and treasure for the worthy on land. Others are less inclined to put their best foot forward, steeped in cunning, destructive evil. Until you come face to face with one such god or monster, it’s impossible to tell if you will be on the receiving end of sharp teeth or a helping hand.Kankurou has heard many tales of those that reside in the ocean by his mother, while she was still alive to tell them. He thought them as nothing more than scary stories to trick kids into being safe, stories you recall fondly later in life as a nostalgic part of childhood. There are certainly tall tales spun by sailors, but Kankurou has never witnessed any creature, monster or god, on his journeys across the wide blue expanse.
Relationships: Momochi Zabuza & Kankurou
Series: 365 Days of Naruto AUs [49]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2086938
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	heave ho

**Author's Note:**

> Day 49: Gods & Monsters AU / Kankurou + Zabuza

The ocean is home to many gods and monsters. Some are kind — saving those who find themselves drowning or stranded, providing goods and treasure for the worthy on land. Others are less inclined to put their best foot forward, steeped in cunning, destructive evil. Until you come face to face with one such god or monster, it’s impossible to tell if you will be on the receiving end of sharp teeth or a helping hand.

Kankurou has heard many tales of those that reside in the ocean by his mother, while she was still alive to tell them. He thought them as nothing more than scary stories to trick kids into being safe, stories you recall fondly later in life as a nostalgic part of childhood. There are certainly tall tales spun by sailors, but Kankurou has never witnessed any creature, monster or god, on his journeys across the wide blue expanse. 

Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t go as often as the others, content to work in the sandy dunes rather than partake in the trading across the water. He’s used to the dry heat and sand in his clothes, the sun over his head and the homes made of clay. On a ship he gets seasick, the rocking more annoying than it is comforting. The sea is deep and dark and full of danger, mystical monsters or not, sharks still reside in the water. He’s certainly heard tales of men getting dragged under the waves by sharks, onlookers blaming sirens or vicious mercreatures rather than the truth.

He doesn’t wish to go across the water.

But here he is, leaning against the railing and trying not to puke his guts out. The nausea is a steady build, a creeping feeling, blocking out his thoughts until all he can focus on is trying not to heave. It’s always the worst at the start, before he gets what they call  _ sea legs. _

He’s not even supposed to be here, honestly. It’s supposed to be his older sister, because she’s much more prone to travel, but she’s just fallen pregnant by that lazy trader from across the desert, in the jungles of Konoha. Gaara is the newly appointed leader of their settlement after their father’s death, so he can’t go either. Not that Kankurou would let him in the first place — he has  _ some _ pride as an older sibling, after all.

“Ugrgh,” He squints down at the waves, away from the glare of the sun. He wishes the others would stop talking and laughing so loudly, it’s only making his stomach swirl faster. Everything makes him feel worse, honestly. It sucks. It all sucks. They’ve literally been at sea for an hour and he already wants to go home. He misses the sand dunes and solid land. What’s really worth suffering this, huh? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He’d rather spend a night in the desert with no supplies, when the temperatures dropped to freezing. 

“Don’t be so dramatic!” He hears someone call, amused. There’s more laughter.

Kankurou throws up his middle finger without turning around. “Fuck off.”

Great Sage, talking hurts too. He shuts his eyes and regrets all his life decisions. He always thinks it won’t be so bad  _ this time _ before he gets on the ship and finds out that no, it’s probably worse. This has to be it. He has to stop getting roped into this. It’s helpful for no one to watch his sorry ass as he pukes off the boat for three days at the start of every launch. It’s certainly not helpful to  _ him _ to have to suffer it every single time. 

What about  _ his _ mental health? This is basically torture!

Kankuro presses a hand to his temple and opens his eyes — only to meet the direct gaze of someone floating in the water below him.

He flinches hard enough to smash his elbow, and barely contains his startled shriek because he just  _ knows _ if he opens his mouth that wide, all that’s coming out is puke.

It looks like a man, with sickly gray skin and dark eyes. He has equally dark, unkempt hair that’s flattened to his skull with the weight of water. Lips are pulled back to reveal rows and rows of sharp, gruesome teeth. Around his body, under the water, a black shape twists and twirls like a lazily moving snake. He looks like the creature in the old sailor’s drawings his mother used to show him. Yes, he remembers it clearly now. The scaly gray skin, the black tail, the gills hissing on the side of his neck — it looks like the great monster Zabuza, one of the stories Kankurou remembers being terrible for a child’s peace of mind.

_ Oh, Great Sage, _ Kankurou thinks.  _ That’s not what I wanted to see today. _

“You might wanna move,” he manages to choke out. “I’m going to puke.”


End file.
